What are Copilot extensions?

Copilot extensions are a way to extend the capabilities of Microsoft 365 Copilot, allowing it to interact with and process data from various sources, thereby enhancing user productivity and creativity across Microsoft 365 applications and offering a more personalized experience. Copilot extensions when deployed can be accessed by users in Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft Teams and other web apps. Learn More.

What are Microsoft Graph Connectors?

Microsoft Graph Connectors allow you to extend Microsoft 365 with external data by enabling the ingestion of unstructured, line-of-business data into Microsoft Graph in a secure & compliant way. This integration enhances the organizational knowledge of Copilot for M365 enabling Copilot to reason over your enterprise content. As a result, Copilot can better understand and respond to natural language prompts, making external data discoverable across Microsoft 365 experiences.

Copilot extensions using Microsoft Graph Connectors

Graph Connectors in Copilot enrich its knowledge content, while Copilot extensions, built with Microsoft Graph Connectors, utilize additional context to be more focused. It enables Microsoft Copilot to behave as specialists, an SME on a particular project or department or to help people of a particular role type or region. Imagine a copilot for HR or copilot for Finance that answers questions that are targeted to only certain data source powered by connections.  It improves your ability to query data effortlessly, personalizes insights for your needs, and enhances collaboration & productivity by making it easier to find essential information within Copilot chat.

Why you will love it

Admins can make these extensions with just a few clicks, all within minutes from Microsoft 365 Admin Center. This new capability will enhance your data usage experience within Copilot through Microsoft Graph connectors. It will offer:

Targeted search: Zero in on the information that matters most to you with enhanced relevance
Natural language queries: Ask questions and get answers as if you’re chatting with a colleague
Conversation starters: Start conversations with Copilot effortlessly using pre-populated prompts, enhancing user engagement
Custom communications: Fine-tune interactions using instructions to address your specific scenarios
Tailored solutions: Create multiple extensions using a combination of connections for your unique business scenarios

Copilot extensions developed using Microsoft Graph connectors will be a lightweight no code setup, easy & quick to configure, will have better relevance based on user activity, leverage semantic discovery of content while maintaining compliance boundaries.

How to create Copilot extensions using Microsoft Graph Connectors

Admins can create these Copilot extensions directly from the Search and Intelligence portal in Microsoft 365 Admin Center using connections. They can leverage the current connections or establish new ones for copilot creation, all without code.

When creating an extension, as the admin selects an existing connection from the list, the UI intuitively fills in the Description, Instructions, and Prompts for the Copilot extension. The admin has the option to customize these details according to their requirements.

Once created, the Copilot is deployed from Microsoft 365 Admin center and is ready to be used from Copilot chat. Admin can control the deployment of these copilots to set of users or groups.

Your Copilot chat now lists the newly created Copilot extension that’s ready to be used, taking advantage of third-party data semantically indexed alongside Microsoft 365 data to enhance your experience.

Enjoy the new way to boost your copilot’s functionality with the integration of Microsoft Graph Connectors. Leverage the capabilities of Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft Graph Connectors to create customized Copilot extensions that suit your diverse business scenarios. We plan to enable advanced customization options for these extensions via Microsoft Copilot Studio in future.

Copilot extensions using Microsoft Graph Connectors is currently in Private Preview. Please reach out to Microsoft Graph Connectors Feedback to get early access.

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